Love and Heartbreak on Valentine's Day
by Animeaddict56
Summary: It's two weeks until Valentine's Day, and love is in the air at Hogwarts! Rose has been longing to be with Scorpius for years . . . but he has a secret that not even his best friends know about! And Lily is on the receiving end of the most romantic attempt of asking a girl out . . . but who's the boy? Who is on what end of this confusing web of love, secrets, and heartbreak?


**Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Note – I felt the need to take a break and write something different, and this was what came to me. I've never really done a piece for a holiday, so I thought I'd given writing a Valentine's story a try. Just so you know, it's meant to end with kind of an open-ending. So, I hope you enjoy.**

Love and Heartbreak on Valentine's Day

"I think it's finally going to happen!"

Lily turned her head in surprise at the gleeful tone in her cousin, Rose's voice, as she came to join the other Weasley girls on the couches in the Gryffindor common room.

Dominique, the true blonde beauty if there ever was one, looked at Rose slyly. "Let me guess, something about Scorpius Malfoy?" she teased playfully.

Lily looked at Lucy, and they both sighed. Rose was impossibly infatuated with Scorpius Malfoy, her and Albus's best friend. She was constantly talking about him and trying to drop hints to him about her affections, but nothing ever came of it.

Rose just smiled brightly. "Yes, it is. I caught up to him and Albus walking down to the Quidditch pitch earlier, and Scorpius was talking about this big date he was planning for Valentine's Day this weekend, and that he was trying to figure out the perfect and most romantic way to ask out the girl!"

While Dominique, Molly, and Roxanne squealed in excitement with Rose, Lily continued to look at the textbook in her lap. But she could feel Lucy's eyes on her. Lily was mainly focused on pushing away any and all guilt.

"So, how do you think he'll ask you?" Dominique asked.

"Wait, guys," Lucy interjected gently, ". . . not to crush dreams, but being realistic, we don't know that Rose is the girl. No offense! But . . . I don't want anyone's hopes to rise just to be crushed."

"Who else would it be, Lu," Molly countered. "I mean, Rose is the only girl that he ever consistently hangs out with."

Lucy sighed. "Just pointing out that we don't actually know is all," she muttered.

Lily internally groaned as she shut her book. "Normally, I'd be glad to sit and join in one of our famous girl moments, but I really need to study for an upcoming exam, and this textbook is not helping. I'll be in the library," she excused, before leaving her cousins and hurrying from the common room.

Once she was away from the eyes of her cousins, Lily felt like banging her head on the wall closest to her. Guilt was rising again. She felt bad for her cousin, who was close enough to be a sister. But . . . she knew better than anyone that Scorpius Malfoy did not return Rose's feelings.

* * *

"So, are you ever going to tell me who this girl is?" Albus inquired as he and Scorpius changed back into their normal clothes after Quidditch practice. Both of them had joined the Slytherin team back in their second year, and Scorpius had made Captain during their sixth year.

Scorpius smiled at the thought of his girlfriend of over a year. Sure, he was only seventeen, but Scorpius knew that he was in love, and he would be for the rest of his life. She was just so perfect, so smart, and kind, he could go on. And for their second Valentine's Day together, he wanted to do something special.

"Maybe when you're old enough," Scorpius joked as they left the locker room.

"What is it with this secret thing," Albus continued to joke. "You can't even tell your best friend?"

Scorpius just shook his head. "Nope. Trust me, when I think you're ready, I'll tell you," he mocked.

"Ok, fine. So, have you figured out how you're going to ask this girl out?" Albus questioned.

Now Scorpius scowled a little. He had been trying to think of a way to ask his girlfriend out for Valentine's Day all through practice, and he came up with nothing. He wanted it to be memorable. Last year, he had simply sent her a small and secret note to ask her, so this year he wanted to do something big for her. She deserved it.

"No, I haven't. I want something special," Scorpius sighed with defeat. "But . . . I'm coming up blank every time I try to come up with something."

"Well . . . what if you wrote it out on a Quaffle, and brought her out to help you _practice_?" Albus suggested. "You could toss it to her, she'd read it, say yes, and all that fun stuff."

But Scorpius shook his head. "Not a good idea. I mean, she'd probably help me, but she's not really into Quidditch, so it wouldn't be about her, like I want."

Albus groaned. "You picked a girl who doesn't like Quidditch? But you love the sport!"

Scorpius smirked. "I didn't say she hates it. She likes watching it, but she's just not as into it as I am. She's more of a spectator."

"Well that's the only idea I have," Albus replied. "Why not just write her a note or something?"

Scorpius just sighed, but Albus's simple idea, along with Scorpius's first time asking her, sparked a small idea in his head.

"I think I might actually have something," Scorpius mumbled. "It may be just perfect. What day is it?"

"January 31st," Albus told him.

Scorpius smiled. "Perfect!"

* * *

Rose fixed her hair as she looked at herself in the mirror in the girls' bathroom. She hated how curly her hair would get, and she hated the orange-red color of it. She wished she had darker hair like Lily, or a light brown like Lucy. She shook the thought off though, and looked herself over once more.

She thought she looked nice. Part of her wondered if she should try using makeup for once, but the idea made her hesitate. She never wore it before, and she wasn't as confident with makeup as Dominique was. So going natural, and smoothing out any wrinkles in her clothes, she left the bathroom, and made her way down to the Great Hall for lunch.

She immediately searched the Slytherin table, but couldn't see the ones she was looking for. So she scanned the Gryffindor table, where they would occasionally sit, and thankfully found them. She walked casually, but briskly toward them, but she almost grimaced a little to see they were sitting with the family. It would just be so hard for her try and drop hints with her brother or Louis around!

But she smiled brightly as she sat next to Lily, and perfectly across from Scorpius. "Hey, Scor, Al! How was practice?"

"Good. We're going to kill Ravenclaw in our match with them," Albus bragged with a grin. "Plus, with a Keeper like Scor, they'll hardly make a point against us!"

"Well Scorpius is the best Keeper around," Rose praised, smiling at said boy. She couldn't help but admire Scorpius Malfoy's appearance. While he was a Keeper, he had the build for a Beater. His hair wasn't the platinum color of his father's, but more honey toned. He definitely had the aristocratic features of the Malfoy heritage though, although Rose thought his jaw and cheekbones were much stronger and rugged.

"Well thanks, Rosie," Scorpius said with a debonair smirk, making her heart miss a beat. He was the only one outside of her family to call her that . . . well the only one she allowed, that is. But before she could say anything else, he was looking down at some book, and she noticed that he wasn't even eating anything.

"What book is that?" Rose asked curiously. While Scorpius was quite smart, he was never one to read for fun or to pass time.

"This sappy book of poems that he's using to help him ask a girl out," Albus teased, nudging his best friend. Scorpius elbowed him back, not even looking away from the book.

"So you've thought on how to ask her out?" Rose hinted.

Scorpius nodded. "I think so. Hopefully it works like I want it to."

"I'm sure it will," Rose said, a promise underneath. She didn't care how Scorpius asked her out, but she was thrilled that he was putting so much thought into it!

But then Scorpius scowled and slammed the book shut. "These are stupid! None of these are helping!" he complained, before dropping his head onto it.

Lily, who had been talking with Hugo, finally seemed to take notice of the conversation beside her. "What's his problem?"

"None of the poems are helping him ask- OW!" Albus exclaimed after Scorpius elbowed him in the side.

"_You're_ not helping," Scorpius mumbled.

Rose gave him a soft smile. "Scorpius, why don't you just say what's in your heart?" she told him.

Scorpius raised a brow. "In my heart?"

Rose nodded. "Yes. I mean, if a boy were to ask me out in some special way, I'd rather he say what's in his heart instead of using poems," she said, trying to drop him a hint again.

Scorpius sat up and seemed to think about that. "What's in my heart, huh?" Then he smirked. "That's not bad, Rosie. You're pretty smart! . . . As usual, that is."

Rose just blushed heavily under his compliment, her heart still pounding.

* * *

Lily yawned heavily as she, and Lucy made their way down to the common room. "Why must classes be so early?" Lily muttered. She was never a morning person, and it showed in how her tie was only half done, she was missing her robes, and her hair was still a bit of a mess in the back.

"Because the founders wanted you to suffer," Lucy mocked with a grin. Lucy was the opposite. No matter how late she stayed up, Lucy woke up early and on time. Lily envied that, and how well together she looked each morning.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they stopped with confusion as they looked at the large crowd standing in the common room, whispers floating around. "What is going on?" Lily questioned. But her voice was heard, and those that noticed her seemed to whisper more.

"Lil!" Hugo called from the crowd. People moved aside to let him through, and the girls met him halfway. Strangely enough, he was holding a balloon in his hand. "Someone left this in the middle of the common room. It's for you," he told her.

Lily looked at him with confusion as she took the pink balloon. It did indeed have her name on it in golden letters. And she could see shadows on the inside of the balloon, as if something was inside.

"Pop it, Lily," Lucy urged. "Something's in there."

"Give me your hair pin?" Lily requested. Lucy easily took it from her hair and handed it to her. Lily popped the balloon, and as it exploded with a loud BANG, Chocolate Frogs fell to the floor, as did a folded slip of red paper. Lily picked up the paper as Hugo gathered the candy for her.

_"You are the most beautiful girl I know."_ That was all that was written. No signature, no initials, nothing. But it made her smile and her heart flutter in her chest.

"Who's it from?" an excited and curious third year asked.

Lily just bit her lip before smiling again. "It doesn't say," she said simply, before she began to head for the door, Lucy and Hugo following behind.

* * *

Scorpius tapped his fingers on the table as he waited for the others. He was sitting in the Transfiguration classroom, waiting for Albus and Rose, and for class to just start already. But when the two of them did arrive, Albus sitting in the middle, he didn't look happy.

Scorpius looked at him curiously. "What's wrong, mate? Forget to skip over the trick step on the staircase again?" he guessed.

Albus shook his head. "No . . . it's just that now that it's February, everyone's trying to make some big deal of asking girls out!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "You thought it was a fun idea yesterday when Scorpius started planning his," she pointed out, giving Scorpius a smile.

But Albus's words worried Scorpius a bit. "Did something happen?"

Albus ran a hand through his hair. "Some bloke's trying to ask out my sister," he grumbled.

"Don't pull a James and start scaring off boys and spouting off on how she can't date anyone," Rose warned immediately.

"It's not that!" Albus argued. "It's just . . . weird, ok. I mean, she's my baby sister, and the idea of her dating some guy is weird. I'm not sure if I like it. I really don't like that I don't know who it is!"

Scorpius scowled at that. Albus didn't like secrets, yet he was keeping one from him. He'd been keeping a secret from his best friend for a year. Maybe . . . maybe it was time to make it public?

* * *

"I don't get boys!" Rose complained to Dominique as they sat at dinner. "When is he going to pull off his fantastic way of asking me out?"

Dominique just patted her shoulder. "Be patient with him. You know Scorpius, he likes to take his time with things. The guy can be a perfectionist sometimes."

Rose sighed. That was true, but . . . "I've dropped hint after hint that I would be thrilled with him just saying what's in his heart! How hard can that be?"

"For a guy, sometimes damn near impossible," Dominique scoffed. "So just be patient."

Rose groaned. "It's just disappointing. Lily's got a secret admirer who's doing something sweet, you've been getting secret little notes all day from Able Wood, Lyle Kirke asked out Molly this afternoon . . . I just feel really left out," she sighed.

"What about that note that you got in Herbology today?" Dominique pointed out. "It was sweet and thoughtful."

Rose sighed heavily. She _had_ gotten a note in class, left at her usual spot. The message had been sweet . . . but it wasn't from Scorpius. The handwriting was too messy. She wanted to love the little note, but it wasn't from the boy that had her heart.

"I hate waiting."

* * *

Lily received a different balloon each day. On the second, a red balloon was waiting for her at breakfast. It had a pink hibiscus inside, and a note that had the cheesiest line ever: _"You are the Keeper of my heart."_ She couldn't stop smiling and giggling whenever she looked at the note.

The one she got on the fourth was one of her favorites as well. It had been a white balloon waiting outside the Charms classroom. The note had said, _"You look stunning every morning."_ He knew more than anyone how much she hated mornings, and how she looked when she woke up and got ready in a quick and sloppy fashion.

Each day for a week, she would find a balloon outside the common room, at meals, or outside classrooms, waiting for, but never in the same place twice. Each had a small gift inside, along with a sweet and heartfelt note. Never was one signed or initialed. But she knew who it was.

"I have to say, it's quite romantic, Lily," Dominique sighed contently as the Weasley girls walked down to lunch. It had been a week since the first balloon. She'd received seven balloons total, and it was now the eight of February.

Lily just smiled. But the girls never let her get away with that. "I mean, seven days in a row. I feel like there's something we don't know about," Molly agreed.

"And what did yesterday's note say? _I honestly can't believe that we've come this far, and lasted this long_? What could that mean?" Roxanne teased.

Lily just sighed. She should have never popped the balloons around these girls. Then again, she hadn't known that he would have written something like that.

"I think it means that our young Lily has a boyfriend that she has yet to tell us about," Dominique stated.

"Well that would make quite a bit of sense," Molly commented.

"Indeed it would," Rose said slyly. Lily was happy to see that Rose was at least in a good mood today. She'd been a bit down the last week. Again, that feeling of guilt rose. Here she was, so happy, while her cousin was so upset and disappointed.

"Is that a balloon I see?" Dominique stated suddenly, making the girls stop in their tracks at the top of the entrance hall stairs.

Sure enough, there near the giant doors that led outside, a simple pink balloon floated in the air. Lily didn't comment as she walked down the stairs, and approached the balloon. Her name was on it as usual, the letters gold. Since the start of last week, she had begun to carry around a hair pin for these moments. She popped the balloon, and surprisingly when it exploded, it exploded snow, which rained down gently on the girls, like real snowfall.

"Snow? Oh, there has to be hidden meaning in this!" Dominique said all too happily.

Lily ignored them as she picked up a red piece of paper. But when she read it, her cheeks turned as red as the note.

_"I'm still in awe over Christmas, and how our love has grown because of it."_

If Lily had had any doubt about who this was, she didn't now. Memories of this past Christmas season flew through her mind, making her blush darken and her cheeks get hotter. Her heart raced in her chest.

"Do I read the word _love_?" Molly squealed, making the other girls squeal. Lily desperately began to wish that Lucy hadn't gone to the library instead of lunch. She needed the support of someone that knew her situation!

"It's nothing," Lily said quickly as she hurried to the Great Hall.

"A boy saying he loves you isn't nothing, Lily Luna Potter!" Dominique argued as they followed her.

"Able says he loves you all the time," Lily countered.

"And it was a big deal when first said it!" Dominique replied. But then she gasped, making Lily stop. "Unless this isn't the first time this boy has said it to you!"

Lily took in a breath, and stopped herself from groaning loudly. How did she always walk into these things? "I'm hungry," she stated, and hurried her pace once again.

"He's said it before!" the girls exclaimed gleefully, and almost victoriously.

* * *

Scorpius hummed a tune to himself as he pretended to do his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. In reality, he was still trying to conjure up an idea for the perfect date on Valentine's Day. Now that he had the idea of how to ask her, the next step was to actually plan the date. But first he needed a place.

Hogsmeade? No, probably not. A public place for a secret couple, not a good idea. He wanted to reveal the secret of course, but he wanted to discuss it with her first, not drag her into the open. So . . . where?

Most other students third year and up would be at Hogsmeade themselves, either with friends or a date for the holiday. So, maybe they could stay at Hogwarts. Scorpius smirked. That would be perfect! And he already knew the perfect place to start off the date!

* * *

"Roxy, I'm getting nervous," Rose admitted as the two sat together in the seventh year dorm room. While Roxanne was the youngest cousin and in her fourth year, it was easy to talk to her. She was so blunt and direct about things that Rose often thought she gave pretty good advice.

"What about?" Roxanne asked as she continued to paint her nails with a coat that would change colors.

"You have to ask? Scorpius!" Rose groaned. "It's the tenth! Four days away from Valentine's Day, and he has yet to act!"

"Maybe he wants wait until the thirteenth. Make a big surprise and keep you on your toes," Roxanne suggested simply.

"Maybe," Rose mumbled, still a little disheartened.

"Or, maybe Lucy was sadly right, and you aren't the girl he's trying to ask out," Roxanne said bluntly.

"Who else could it be?" Rose argued a bit sourly, but also with a bit of mounting fear.

Roxanne shrugged. "I don't know. There are hundreds of girls at this school. A lot of girls swoon over him, especially in Slytherin House."

Rose scowled. That was true. He was popular among witches at school, and a lot of Slytherin girls hated the fact that she hung out with him and Albus, even though she and Albus were cousins. "I can't remember him ever having an interest in any of them, though."

"Then who knows," Roxanne said with another shrug.

"Roxy, I came here for help and guidance, and all you've done is put on a second coat, and point out how Scorpius may like another girl!" Rose whined.

"Here's my guidance for you," Roxanne said, finally looking at Rose instead of her nails. "Boys are stupid, so don't put all your faith into a guy who has never once shown that he's taken notice of your feelings. And don't wait like a damsel in distress. Make a move yourself, and take charge of your own life."

Rose stared at her little cousin with a look akin to amazement. "How is it you can say all of that so simply and firmly when never having a boyfriend yourself?"

Roxanne smiled. "Because just like Daddy, I don't have to have smarts and personal experiences to be successful."

* * *

Lily flipped through all the notes she'd gotten so far. Some of them were so cute, others hinted at personal stories and jokes. _"If I could love you for the rest of my life, it still wouldn't be enough." "Yes, I have thought of us getting married. Will you stop teasing me about that now?" _And then today's, _"If I were to run into the Mirror of Erised, I would see only myself. Because I already have you."_

"You two are so romantic and sweet that it's disgusting," Hugo joked as they sat on his bed, looking them over. He was also looking at the new Chocolate Frog cards he'd acquired from the latest balloon, as Lily always gave them to him.

"He's so sweet," Lily sighed. "But . . . it's getting hard to hide the truth from the girls. They're not idiots, and they know now that I have a boyfriend."

"Maybe that's why he says some of these things. Maybe he doesn't want to hide it," Hugo pointed out.

"But . . . it would hurt people if they knew," Lily whispered.

Hugo took her hand. "It's crueler to string them along with hope only to crush it. Better to crush it now, than later. Besides, from what I've gathered, she's already starting to give up on this whole Valentine's Day thing."

The door slammed open, and Dominique and Molly stood in the doorway, looking way too smug for Lily's liking. "We know who it is!" Dominique exclaimed.

Lily felt her heart stop. How? "What?" she mumbled.

"We know who the boyfriend is!" Molly told her. "We figured it out!"

Lily gulped. "How is that possible?"

They moved around her, practically caging her. Hugo gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, we thought about all the little notes you've gotten that we've seen," Dominique started. "And we started with the second one. A team Keeper at Hogwarts!"

Lily felt her body tense. This wasn't good.

"Now only three of them are boys," Molly pointed out. "And we thought back to the one that called you beautiful. And only one of those boys fit that one easily."

Lily clenched her hands. It wasn't possible.

"Jonathan Finnigan!" Dominique and Molly cheered.

Lily looked at them with shock. So they continued on. "Jonathan is a natural flirt, but also a total gentleman, and always calls a girl beautiful," Molly stated. "And you two have been friends since you were Sorted into the same house."

"And he and his family also came to visit the Burrow on Christmas Eve," Dominique said with a sly grin. "Hinting at the note about Christmas."

"So, it's Jonathan Finnigan! Isn't it!" Molly said happily.

Lily just bit her lip uncertainly.

* * *

Scorpius scowled at the paper in front of him. What to write? He was told something heartfelt was best . . . but what? His heart felt so many things right now.

"What are you up to, Scor?" Albus asked as he sat with him at the table in the corner of their common room.

Scorpius set down his quill. "Nothing, just . . . trying to write something for the girl I want to spend Valentine's Day with."

"Well, what are you aiming for?" Albus inquired.

"Well Rose said something heartfelt would be best, and she was right . . . but I'm stuck now," Scorpius explained.

Albus sighed. "Mate, why don't you just ask her out? You're are making her seriously nervous right about now. I mean, it's two days away, and she's not patient," he said with a laugh.

Scorpius looked at him with surprise. "You know who the girl is?"

Albus chuckled. "Well yeah. It's Rose, right? I mean, who else would it be?"

Scorpius looked at him with confusion. "Rose? It's not Rose," he replied. "Why would I ask out Rose? She's one of my best friends."

Now Albus looked confused. "Wait, it's not Rose?"

"No, she's my friend, nothing more," Scorpius insisted. Now, he knew of Rose's feelings for him. He'd known for almost two years now, and only because it had been pointed out to him by his girlfriend. It was why they were still a secret, even after a year. To keep from hurting her. Scorpius tried to discourage Rose's feelings for him, but she never bluntly said it, and he couldn't just be cruel to his best friend. It was a tricky situation.

"Well then who the hell is it?" Albus questioned. "I've been thinking it was Rose for like two weeks almost! Everyone did!"

Scorpius groaned. "Well, it's not her, ok?"

Albus stared at him, but then after a minute just sighed and shook his head. "Fine, don't tell me. Anyways, do you have your Charms notes from today? Mine suck."

Scorpius scoffed. "That's because you and Harper Thomas kept goofing off," he said with a smirk. "They're in my bag."

"Thanks, Scor," Albus said with relief as he grabbed his friends bag. Scorpius went back to staring at the paper in front of him, but stopped when Albus spoke again. "What the hell?" Scorpius looked up, and froze momentarily. Albus was holding a small bag with five balloons inside, each either red, pink, or white.

"Why are you carrying around balloons?" Albus questioned with confused curiosity. But then it seemed to hit him, and he looked at Scorpius with wide eyes.

Scorpius placed one hand over the wand in his pocket, just in case. "Al, I can explain," he promised.

Albus leaned toward him quickly, making Scorpius flinch. Albus didn't attack or hex him, but he whispered furiously. "You're the bloke that's been sending my sister balloons every day? You're the secret boyfriend that our cousins have been trying to figure out? _She's_ the girl I've been trying to get you to admit about? You're dating my baby sister!"

Scorpius gulped, but nodded. "Yes, we are dating . . . for about a year and a half now."

"And you don't say anything!" Albus exclaimed quietly.

"Lily didn't want to!" Scorpius said quickly. "She didn't want to hurt Rose's feelings! So she wanted to keep it secret! I hesitated about that part, but I wasn't going to lose the chance to go out with her!"

Albus took a deep breath. "Upstairs, now. So we can talk privately, and I can stop whispering!"

Scorpius nodded, and followed his best friend to their dorm room. It was empty, and once the door was closed, Scorpius was quick to speak. "Look, Al, I really care for Lily. I love her, truly. I'm never going to hurt her, or let something happen to her. And you know me! I would never take advantage of her, or make her do something she didn't want to, or-,"

"I know," Albus interrupted.

Scorpius stopped and looked at him with mild surprise. "What?"

Albus sighed. "I know that you wouldn't hurt her. And to be honest . . . I can see how happy you seem to make her. Every time she got a balloon, or she looks at the notes she carries around, I can see how brightly she smiles and how happy she is. And yes, I know you would never hurt her."

Scorpius nodded. "Ok. Then . . . why are we up here?"

Albus sat down on his bed and crossed his arms. "First, a few rules to dating my baby sister with me as your best friend. Number one, if you two fight, don't drag me into it. I stay neutral. Even if there's a break up."

Scorpius nodded, certain they'd never break up. But all couples did fight. "Ok. I can understand that."

"Two, no more secrets," Albus stated.

"I agree with that too. It's something I plan to talk to her about on our date," Scorpius assured.

"And most importantly . . . you guys tell Rose yourselves," Albus demanded. "Don't let her find out secondhand, even if it's from Dominique. She has pined after you for years, and hoped for the last week and a half that you were going to ask her out. She deserves to hear it from you."

Scorpius sighed as he sat down too. "You're right, you're right. She deserves better," he agreed. He looked to Albus. "Maybe . . . maybe I'll tell her first. Let her know myself."

* * *

Finally, it was the thirteenth. The day before Valentine's Day. Lily wondered if this would be the final day of her finding balloons. She wondered what it would say today. She walked down to the common room, and found her cousins, but the sight made her freeze.

"Wait, so you're not Lily's boyfriend?" Dominique demanded.

Jonathan Finnigan was sitting on the couch they were circled around. He had a charming grin on his lips, but even Lily could tell he was amused. "No, I'm not. Don't get me wrong, she's beautiful and a great girl, but we're better friends I think."

"But when we guessed that it was you, Lily didn't deny it!" Molly complained.

Jonathan caught her eye across the room, but looked away, his grin growing more amused. "My guess is because she was trying to give you the slip on who it really was."

Lily understood what he was doing, and quickly and quietly moved past the girls, and out of the common room. She had to remember to thank Jonathan later. He really was a great friend. But still not sure if she had made it out without being spotted, she hurried off to the library, the place where they most likely wouldn't find her. And if they did, they couldn't interrogate her without Madam Charity throwing them out for being noisy.

But as Lily reached the library, she found a surprising, but slightly amusing sight. Hugo was leaning against the wall, a balloon in his hands. When he saw her, he grinned. "He gave me this to give to you. And I had a feeling that you would eventually run here to hide from the girls."

Lily smiled at him as she took it. "Thank you, Huey," she said. She popped the balloon. Dozens of different flowers fell out of the balloon this time, along with a red note. This made her smile even brighter.

_"Simply put: I love you. Will you meet me where it all truly began tomorrow before lunch?"_

Where it all began? That was simple. The Room of Requirement. That was where they had first admitted their feelings for each other. But why meet there? It made her curious about what he had planned.

"So are you going to show up?" Hugo teased playfully.

Lily just grinned. "Even better. Do you think Louis still has those balloons we used for Al's birthday a few months ago?"

* * *

Rose tried to take in a calming breath, but it was still shaky when it came out. She was nervous, incredibly nervous, to be honest. It was the day before Valentine's Day, and Rose was finally taking Roxanne's advice. Scorpius had yet to ask her out, and she was beginning to think that he either lost his nerve, or she was just too impatient to wait any longer. So she was going to ask _him_ out instead.

She was waiting in the dungeons, knowing that this would be the first place he and Albus would come after Quidditch practice. And she could soon hear their laugher floating from around the corner. Moments later they appeared, still laughing about something.

"Hello, boys," she greeted over their laughter.

They stopped, and at first smiled, but then seemed a bit hesitant. Rose was confused. What was wrong with them? Albus cleared his throat. "Well, um . . . I'm going to go ahead and find Warrington. I'll see you two at dinner."

Rose felt a bit of relief as Albus walked past her and to the Slytherin common room. She was sure that she was going to have to tell Albus that she wanted to talk to Scorpius privately, and that would surely make it awkward between the three of them.

Scorpius shoved his hands into his pockets, looking uncertain. "So, what's up, Rosie?" Scorpius inquired politely.

Rose just took in another breath, and smiled. "Well, I want to talk to you."

Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, same here, actually."

"Let me go first," Rose insisted. "Look . . . I really like you, as I'm sure you know. And I think it's sweet that you tried to do something fantastic to ask me out, and it's ok that you lost your nerve. But . . . I thought I'd just take the initiative and ask you if you wanted to go out with me tomorrow." She felt much better getting that all off her chest. It was actually the first time she'd told Scorpius how she felt about him.

But when he closed his eyes and seemed to be thinking, Rose felt her heart begin to sink. "Rose . . . when I was talking about a big plan to ask a girl out . . . I was talking about another girl . . . my girlfriend."

While Rose had started to expect a rejection at his initial silence, she felt like she'd taken a hex to the gut at his words. "Your . . . your girlfriend?" Scorpius . . . he had a girlfriend?

Scorpius nodded. "Yes." There seemed to be more he wanted to say, but he was quiet again.

But Rose wasn't silent. She was too hurt, and wanted to know. "Who? Who is it? How long have you been dating her? Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Scorpius groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's . . . Lily is my girlfriend."

Nothing came to Rose when he finished his sentence. Only a tightening in her chest, and a pain that she wasn't sure she'd ever felt, settled in her heart. And she wasn't sure how long she stood there, staring at him. But after what seemed like an eternity, thoughts finally came to her.

Lily? He was dating Lily? Lily, her cousin? Her cousin, who was like a sister, was dating the boy she'd been crushing on and dreaming about for years? Lily went behind her back to date the boy she liked? Lily, who knew that Rose liked him? The girl that listened whenever Rose gushed about him, or fantasized about him?

Scorpius sighed at her silence. "We've been dating for over a year, Rosie. She . . . she wanted to keep it a secret from you, because-,"

"Hey, Scor! Someone left this for you in the common room," Marshall Baddock said as he came up to them. Rose froze at the sight of a green balloon in his hands with Scorpius's name written on it in silver. "I never knew you and Lily were a thing! I mean, you're the one that's been giving her the balloons, right?"

Rose couldn't hear anymore. She didn't _want_ to hear anymore. So she ran.

* * *

Scorpius sighed sadly as he watched Rose run. "Rosie!" he called to her. But she didn't even turn, and he didn't chase after her. She needed time. So Scorpius took the balloon from Marshall, and easily popped it. A single pink piece of paper fell to the floor. He bent down to pick up, and flipped it over to see one sentence written on it.

_"I love you too. See you there."_

And despite the fact he might have just lost one of his best friends . . . Scorpius couldn't stop himself from smiling, or stop the warm feeling settling his heart.

* * *

Lily laid across one of the couches in the Gryffindor common room, her head on Hugo's lap, his feet propped up on the coffee table. Lucy sat on the floor, leaning her head back against Lily's legs. They were full after dinner, and with tomorrow being a Hogsmeade trip, they finally had some time to just relax and not worry about O.W.L.s or any other homework.

"Have you ever looked at some of these career pamphlets?" Hugo asked as he flipped through one on being a Healer.

"A few," Lily replied.

"No. But I already know what I want to do," Lucy replied.

"Ah, yes, Lucy the herbologist," Hugo teased playfully and with a smile. "You'll be good at it."

"Why thank you," Lucy replied, mindlessly flipping through a magazine.

"So, do you two have any plans tomorrow?" Lily asked curiously.

But before they could answer her, they were interrupted. "Lily." The three of them jumped a little in surprise, and turned to see that Rose had approached them. Lily sat up, but when she noticed that Rose's eyes were rimmed pink from crying, and her expression was empty, Lily completely stood up, concerned.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Lily asked quickly. "Are you ok?"

"It was a joke, wasn't it?" Rose murmured, her tone as empty and dead as her expression. "This was a big game for you. Something for you to laugh at."

Lily looked back at Hugo and Lucy for help, but they looked just as confused as she felt. So she looked back to Rose. "Rose . . . what are you talking about?"

A stinging pain shot across her cheek, and he neck cracked with the harsh force Rose used as she slapped her. Lily froze in complete shock. Not only had she never been slapped before, but never would she have expected something like that from Rose! And it hurt! She could feel her cheek throbbing, and it felt like it was on fire.

"Rose, what the hell!" Hugo exclaimed, quickly moving to stand between his sister and cousin. "What are you doing?"

"Do you know what she's been doing for the last year and a half?" Rose muttered bitterly.

Lily felt her heart stop now, and her eyes grew wide. Rose . . . did she know now? "Rose . . ." Hugo obviously didn't know what to say either.

Rose laughed dryly. "So you did know. How about you, Lucy?" Lucy, who had stood up as well, stayed silent. "Looks like everyone got to laugh but me."

"Rose," Lily whispered. "It wasn't . . ."

"Save it," Rose snapped. Then she scoffed. "I don't know what's worse. The fact that you did it knowing how I felt, or that you listened to me talk about him and how I wanted to be with him, all the while being with him yourself." Then she brushed past her brother and stormed off toward the dorms.

Lily just held her cheek, unsure of what to do or what to say. She hardly noticed the scene they had created. But Hugo quickly and gently took her shoulders, and led her up to the boys' dorms, Lucy following behind them.

* * *

"So, since Rose didn't take your dating Lily well, my guess is that we won't be sitting at Gryffindor's table?" Albus guessed.

Scorpius sighed. "Probably so. Sorry, Al."

"It's fine," Albus assured as they entered the Great Hall for breakfast. "You go and sit though, I do need talk to Dominique quick. I somehow got sucked into going on a double date with her and Able, and I wanna know where the hell we're going."

Scorpius smirked. "Who's your date?"

"Her friend Suzy Scott, from Hufflepuff," Albus said with a grin of his own. He parted ways with Scorpius to hurry over to the Gryffindor table. Normally, his family all seemed to sit together at the Gryffindor table, which was why he sat with them so often, but as he approached, he noticed four missing faces.

"Hey, guys," Albus greeted, still looking among them. "Huh. I've never known Hugo to miss breakfast."

Dominique hesitated, but then sighed. "He stayed with Lily back in the common room. He _and_ Lucy stayed back."

"For Merlin's sake, stop dancing around the issue!" Roxanne complained. She looked at Albus with a serious look. "Scorpius told Rose about him and Lily, and so Rose slapped her last night in the middle of the common room."

Albus looked at them with shock, but then felt anger stirring his stomach. "She slapped my sister?"

Roxanne nodded. "Yep. And she's been hiding up in her room since last night."

Albus took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. "Merlin! I mean, Lily didn't make a wise decision, but she had good intentions! What is Rose thinking?"

"What do you mean good intentions? Lily went out with him knowing how Rose felt," Molly pointed out.

Albus looked at them with amazement. "Did you not hear the whole story?"

Dominique raised a brow. "I'm starting to get the feeling that Rose didn't hear the whole story."

Albus just shook his head and turned around and left the Great Hall. He planned to give Rose a piece of his mind, and an earful! But he heard footsteps following him, and he turned to see that Dominique was following him. "What are you doing?"

"She's in the girls' dorms. You won't be able to get to her, unless you get a girl to bring her down," Dominique pointed out. "And those girls are like my sisters, and they're important to me."

Albus nodded, and the two of them hurried up to Gryffindor Tower. Dominique gave the password and let him. It was empty, everyone was down at breakfast. Albus waited and paced as Dominique left to go fetch Rose. Albus expected it to take a few minutes for Dominique to convince her to come down, but he was surprised to see Rose racing down the stairs, looking at him with a fire in her eyes.

"Did you know?" Rose demanded of him as soon as her feet hit the bottom floor.

But Albus was just as furious. "What the hell were you thinking slapping Lily? She's your cousin! She's family!"

"She went behind my back to date the boy I've been crazy about for years! She knew how I felt! Did you know?" Rose yelled.

"She kept it a secret because she didn't want to hurt you!" Albus retorted. "She kept it a secret to keep from rubbing her relationship in your face! It may not have been the best decision, but in the end she did it for you! And you slap her in response?"

Rose seemed to calm at his words, and now her voice trembled. "Did you know?"

Albus took in a breath, trying to calm down as well. "I just found out yesterday, and I was the one that demanded you be the first to know. Scorpius wanted to tell you himself before he and Lily became public knowledge."

Rose blinked away tears, and looked away from Albus. "You don't know that she kept it a secret for that reason," she whispered weakly.

"You know Lily as well as I do!" Albus argued, although much calmer. "She wouldn't keep it a secret just to get a good laugh! And she would never do something to be malicious! Good idea or not, she always has good intentions! And you go and attack her before even knowing the whole story? Without finding out how it started? How could you?"

* * *

Lily sighed as she stared into the mirror. She was in the bathroom connected to the fifth year boys' dorm room. It was a mess, but she hadn't wanted to leave the comfort of her best friends, or potentially run into Rose.

"I can't believe you just let her slap you like that," Hugo muttered as he leaned against the doorway. It was only them now. Lily had pushed Lucy out to go and enjoy lunch before her date with Nicholas Beck, but Hugo wouldn't budge and stayed while Lily got ready for her own date.

Lily just sighed as she ran her fingers across her cheek. She'd used a simple healing potion last night to get rid of the bruising, and all that was left now was a light pink tinge that she was sure would disappear soon.

"She's angry with me, and I understand that. She needs time," Lily mumbled softly as she picked up a tube of lipgloss.

"You didn't even fight back," Hugo pointed out as he moved behind her, and began to comb through his own brown hair.

"What good would that have done?" Lily argued before glossing her lips lightly. Then she sighed. "I deserved it, I went behind her back." Hugo just shook his head and moved back into the bedroom. Lily followed after him, then made him face her. "How do I look?"

She had dressed in a pretty green sundress, since she was sure that they would be staying at Hogwarts this afternoon, and not going out into the chilly weather. Her hair was lightly curled, and fell around her shoulders. She didn't usually use a lot of makeup, so she kept it that way, only using lipgloss, and bringing out her eyes with a bit of eyeliner.

Hugo held her hands, and then twirled her around. "You look lovely, my dear. Now, would you like to be accompanied to the seventh floor?"

Lily smiled, but she knew what he was doing. "No, good sir, I will be fine on my own. You go on to lunch."

Hugo nodded as they left the room. "Ok, if you're sure. Shall we?" He still held out his arm to her, which Lily took it with a smile.

They ran into no trouble or distractions as they walked through the halls. But they soon parted, and Lily insisted once again that he go eat lunch. Lily made her way through the seventh floor, and easily found the Room of Requirement, as the large doors were already there and slightly open.

Lily quickly made her way for the doors, but as soon as she slipped in, she smiled brightly. Standing right in front of her was Scorpius holding a single red balloon in his hand. She closed the door, and took the balloon that he was holding out to her. But instead of having to pop this one, the message was written right on it.

_"I love you more than life itself."_

Lily smiled brightly, then leaned up on her tiptoes to press a chaste kiss on his lips. "You are the perfect boyfriend," she whispered softly. After an entire night and morning of feeling horrible guilt and sadness, finally the mood lifted and all that was left was a sincere happiness and warmth.

Scorpius smiled too as he took her hand, and pulled her to a table that was filled with what looked like both of their favorite foods. "Only for you," he promised. "Now, since I'm stealing you away from lunch, I thought I'd include food in our date."

* * *

Rose sigh sadly as she walked around Hogsmeade, alone. All of her friends and cousins had dates or plans already, leaving her alone to walk around and think a little. Thing was . . . she didn't want to be left to her thoughts. After talking with Al . . . now _she _felt guilt at her actions. She shouldn't have slapped Lily, although she still believed she was right in being angry at her.

"Rose? What are you doing out here by yourself?" Rose turned to see Lorcan Scamander walking toward her. He stopped beside her and smiled brightly. His blonde hair was spiked up, his teeth a pearly white color.

Rose gave him a small smile. "Hey, Lorcan. I'm . . . I'm just trying to find something to do."

Lorcan gave a nod. "Oh. Well, I was about to get a drink at Hog's Head. Want to join me?"

Rose look around them. "Um . . . don't you have a date or something? I mean, it's Valentine's Day," she pointed out.

Lorcan chuckled. "Nah, not me. The girl I'm sort of into passed me over," he admitted.

Rose wasn't paying attention when Lorcan started leading her to the Hog's Head. "Really? I can't imagine that."

Lorcan just smiled. "It happens. I know she's into this other guy, but I thought I'd still give it a shot."

"Well you take rejection better than I do," Rose sighed. "I get rejected and it's like I jumped off the deep end."

Lorcan didn't laugh at her or leave her behind. Instead, he just opened the door for her, still smiling. "Well then let me pay for the first butterbeer, and you can tell me all about it."

* * *

"I liked your notes," Lily commented. While it was now early evening, and most students were probably back from Hogsmeade, the two of them were up in the Astronomy Tower laying on a blanket that was on the floor, and looking up at the sky, which was getting darker by the minute.

Scorpius smiled. "Yeah?"

Lily nodded, intertwining their fingers. "Yeah. They were sweet. Although . . . that one about Christmas, you could have put that balloon somewhere where I wouldn't be with the girls when I found it."

Scorpius smirked now. "It's not like I wrote out that we had sex."

Lily blushed. They had indeed had sex Christmas Eve night, when she'd snuck out to meet him in the garage of her grandparents' house. They'd only done it a few times since, and Lily was still a bit shy about it at times. "Still . . ."

"I didn't think about how you'd blush darker than your hair," he teased as he squeezed her hand.

Lily rolled onto her side and playfully smacked him on the chest. "Ha, ha," she mumbled as she rested her cheek on his chest. But she still smiled. "Thank you, though. The whole two weeks . . . it was perfect."

Scorpius smiled softly. "Yeah? Well, you really do look beautiful in the mornings," he said sincerely.

"And you really do think about us getting married," she teased, giggling lightly.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, but he continued to smile. "Yes, yes I have. You aren't going to leave me alone about it, are you?"

"By asking me to drop it in your note just increased my desire to continue to tease you," Lily mocked as she traced circles into his shirt.

He tilted her chin up to look at him, and she felt her heart warm at the sight of his smile. Smiling wasn't always something he did. A smirk was easy to get out of him, but a true smile, that was rare and an accomplishment to get out of him.

"I guess I don't mind that," he murmured before shifting and then leaning down to kiss her softly, but passionately all the same.

Lily pulled from the kiss slightly, her lips still brushing against his. "Happy Valentine's Day," she murmured.

He kissed her once more. "Happy Valentine's Day, love."

* * *

"I still can't believe that I slapped my cousin," Rose murmured as she and Lorcan finally began to walk back to the castle. They'd been walking around the grounds now for what must have been hours, simply talking about life and what they'd been through lately.

"You were upset," Lorcan replied. "We do shocking things in those moments."

Now that she'd had time to cool, and she'd actually fully talked it out with Lorcan, Rose felt horrible guilt for hitting Lily. While she was still a little upset, it had dulled a tad. "I want to apologize for hitting her . . . but I'm just not sure I'm ready to see them together."

"You wanna know how I would look at it, whenever I'd see them together?" Lorcan inquired.

Rose nodded. "Sure."

"I would think to myself, are they happy? And even if I were mad at them, if I cared about them, I would want them to be happy. So if they're happy, then I would be happy for them," Lorcan said. "True happiness . . . it's not easy to find. So when you get it, always appreciate it. And when someone else gets it, you be happy for them."

Rose couldn't help but smile at him. Was this the same guy that used to pull his shirt up over his head and spin in circles when they were children? "When did you become this wise?"

Lorcan shrugged, still smiling. "I guess I just pay attention to what's going on around me, and make my own observations. So often people become angry or bitter at those that find happiness, and I find it to be horribly sad."

"I think now, I'm more sad and a little scared than angry," Rose sighed. "I mean, I wasted seven years longing after the same boy, only for him to be with someone else. I mean, what if I never find the right guy?"

"You will," Lorcan stated with certainty.

Rose looked at him with a bit of surprise. "How can you know that?"

Lorcan stopped just outside the doors to the castle. "Because, I believe that life has its ways of balance. And you have finally hit the moment in your life where you feel hurt and sad, and alone. You know the feeling, so you can better understand these things. So I believe that life will balance for you, by allowing you to find someone that truly loves you for you. Will it happen tomorrow? Most likely not. But one day it will, and you will feel that true happiness that you long for. So, while I know you're not the most patient person, just wait for that day to come and it'll be better than you imagined."

Stunned by the simplicity and yet kind tone of his words, Rose stood there as he began to walk inside the castle. He turned back and smiled at her again, his bright white smile looking so . . . perfect on him. "Are you coming in?"

Shaking out of it, Rose quickly followed after him.


End file.
